Longtime Jamestown residents enjoy the abundance of waterviews on Conanicut Island and the relaxed, "down-home" atmosphere of life in-town, as the central downtown area near the ferries is called. But some worry that high real estate prices will eventually drive out most residents of modest means or middle income.

"I'm glad I knew Jamestown when the main kind of car on the street was a pickup," said Lisa Bryer, the town's planner. "There was a predominance of fishing -- and no outdoor cafes. But it's still a great place. . . . It has an eclectic, down-home quality."

From Providence, coming to the island over the Jamestown Bridge, Jamestown appears to be a quiet, small suburban town that just happens to be surrounded by spectacular waterviews. Head south into the in-town/village area, and the housing stock is generally older, and the housing lots are mostly smaller. Narragansett Avenue is the main commercial street, and it runs from the West Ferry to the East Ferry areas.

The business district begins right next to the East Ferry ticket office on the wharf. A kayak rental business, a couple of real estate offices and a gourmet food shop are among the offerings. Shops and restaurants are clustered in the surrounding area, and even on a busy summer afternoon, free parking is available on the main roads. The Bay Voyage, the island's only hotel, is also near the East Ferry, at Narragansett and Conanicus avenues. Organic produce from Stearns Farm, on the north end of the island, is sold at a farmstand downtown at the East Ferry on Saturday mornings and Wednesday afternoons in season.

The island's main supermarket, McQuade's, is a short drive away on Clark Street near Southwest Avenue.

Bryer said year-round island residents, used to the quiet of the off-season, sometimes get irritated in the summer because they can't park exactly where they want on Narragansett Avenue. "People expect to park in front of the business they patronize," she said.

Bryer has been the town planner in Jamestown for almost 10 years, and she has lived in Jamestown since 1989. Her husband, James Bryer, who is fire chief and has lived in Jamestown since he was 5, bought their Clinton Avenue house in 1983. He joined the town's volunteer Fire Department when he was 16. The chief's position is a paid one, but it is part-time. Bryer said her husband also works as a house designer.

Jamestown is "wonderful. People call it Mayberry; it really does have that idyllic quality," Bryer said.

The idyll is not inexpensive. Last year, Jamestown's median house price, $556,000, was the second-highest in the state, trumped only by Little Compton ($595,000).

Houses for sale in the in-town/village section of Jamestown recently ranged in price from $399,999 for a two-bedroom ranch to $2,975,000 for a four-bedroom, four-bath shingle-style Victorian on a waterfront lot with two moorings. But outside the village section, there is an estate on the market for $11 million, the Fowler's Rocks property on East Shore Road, on the East Passage of Narragansett Bay.

Bob Bailey, of Island Realty, said the number of house sales from January to July this year is comparable to the same period last year, "but we have seen a significant increase in the number of properties available." There are 74 properties on the market in Jamestown now, he said, but normally, the amount ranges from 42 to 48. He said the largest concentration of available property is in the $450,000 to $750,000 price range, but there are 14 properties priced at $1 million or above.

"Typically the Jamestown buyer today is either downsizing from an existing larger home, tapping into that equity, and looking for a different community feel outside of a metropolitan area," Bailey said. "There is also a large concentration of second-home buyers," he said, who often stay only for the summer months. Most high-end, waterfront houses fall into this category. Some second-home owners rent their property out in the off-season, and some leave their houses vacant.

Bryer said the influx of wealth and the increased summer tourism has changed Jamestown. There are a lot of teardowns, she said. "People build multimillion-dollar mansions, and they're summer homes," she said. "Most of our commerce and tourism is from day-trippers," because in addition to the Bay Voyage, there are only three bed-and-breakfast inns. "It's become much busier in the summer. It's really not quiet at all anymore," she said.

Bryer acknowledged that the town needs to provide more affordable housing for "the people who keep the town running."

"The day is coming," she said. "The next generation of town employees is not going to be able to afford to live here."

Sirge Carl, director of the Jamestown Housing Authority, agreed. "I'm really lucky [to live and work in Jamestown]," she said. If she had to buy a house in today's market, she added, "I could not live here now. Unfortunately, most people's children can't afford to live here when they grow up."

Bailey said rents in Jamestown are not out of sync with the rest of the state, but he agreed that buying property on the island is not easy. "If they're not a dual-wage earner in today's marketplace, they are going to find it difficult to purchase a median-priced, average home in Jamestown," he said.

Bailey is a Jamestown native, and his wife, Julia Gerald, a house designer, is from South Kingstown. They live in-town on Bay Street, near the water, a bit north of the East Ferry. Bailey said he's an "avid sailor," and he worked in the area marine industry for 18 years before going into real estate.

Bailey has "traveled quite a bit," but has always been happy to return to Jamestown. "I have always wanted to be near the water," he said.

Bryer is from the "very suburban Philadelphia area," but is also attached to the island.

"I grew up a landlubber, but I just can't leave," she said.

cdunn@projo.com / 277-2913

POPULATION: (Jamestown, 2000): 5,622

MEDIAN SALES PRICE (Jamestown, 2005): $556,000

PUBLIC SCHOOLS: Melrose School (preschool -- grade 4)

Lawn School (grades 5 to 8)

Jamestown students attend North Kingstown High School

INTERESTING FACT: In 1656, Benedict Arnold, William Coddigan and several other people from Newport bought Conanciut Island, which had been named for Sachem Conanicus of the Narragansett Indians, according to the Rhode Island Economic Development Commission. The town was incorporated in 1678 and renamed in honor of Prince James, later James II.